Chang'e-2 arrived at an earth-moon transfer orbit after it separated from the carrier rocket, which has a perigee of 200 kilometers and an apogee of about 380,000 kilometers from the earth, according to the control center.

The control center made the announcement after the satellite successfully entered the orbit and unfolded its solar panels.

At 6:59:57 p.m., the satellite blasted off on a Long March 3C carrier rocket from No. 2 launch tower at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

The lunar satellite is expected to take about 112 hours, or almost five days, to arrive at its lunar orbit.

XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- If lunar satellite Chang'e-2 sends back high-resolution photos of the Bay of Rainbows, the mission can be deemed a complete success, said the chief designer of China's lunar exploration program Friday.

Wu Weiren said Chang'e-2 would take high-resolution photos of the moon's Bay of Rainbows area, the proposed landing ground for Chang'e-3. Full story

XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China launched its second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2 on Friday, inaugurating the second phase of a three-step moon mission, which will culminate in a soft-landing on the moon.

At 6:59:57 p.m., the satellite blasted off on a Long March 3C carrier rocket from No. 2 launch tower at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Full story